Egypt evacuates embassy staff in Tripoli

Tripoli, Jan 26: Egypt evacuated diplomats and staff of its embassy in the Libyan capital of Tripoli Saturday after five staff were kidnapped by unidentified gunmen, an Egyptian diplomatic source said.

An Egyptian plane left the Tripoli International Airport carrying all staff of the embassy and their families, Xinhua quoted the source as saying while requesting anonymity.

The Libyan foreign ministry had announced the kidnapping of four Egyptian embassy staff including the cultural attache Saturday, after another diplomat was abducted Friday night.

The abductions came hours after the leader of the Operations Room of Libya’s Revolutionaries, a major militia group, Shaban Hadia, was arrested in Egypt after police forces raided his home in the coastal city of Alexandria.